Hugh Mackay

This article deals with General Hugh Mackay. For peers and politicians, see Hugh Mackay, 14th Lord Reay .

General Hugh Mackay

Hugh Mackay of Scourie (* around 1640 in Sutherlandshire; † August 3, 1692 , killed in the Battle of Steenkerke ) was a Scottish general who was known in the service of William of Orange .

Life

origin

Hugh Mackay, later remembered by his Scottish compatriots as An Sheniril Mor (the great general), was born in Sutherlandshire around 1640 as the third son of Earl Hugh Mackay of Scourie and Anne, daughter of John Corbet of Arboll from Rosshire . After the death of his two older brothers William and Hector, who were murdered in Caithness , and after the death of his father in 1662, the young Hugh Mackay went to England.

Early military career

After the successful restoration of the Stuarts , he joined the Douglas (Dumbarton) regiment as an ensign , which was then awarded to the French king by King Charles II . Mackay accompanied this unit, now renamed the Royal Scots Brigade, to France to receive higher military training in the armies of the Prince of Conde and the Viscount de Turenne . In 1669 he volunteered in the service of Venice to support the republic in the siege of Candia , and in recognition of his achievements there he received a medal of honor. In 1672 he was appointed captain in the Dumbarton Regiment, with whom he entered the French army under Turenne in the United Provinces . During this time he was quartered in Bonmel near Geldern , in the house of a Dutch lady, the wife of the Chevalier de Bie. He fell in love with their eldest daughter Clara, whom he married in 1673. The family's pious beliefs made a deep impression on him. He recognized that he had fought for an unjust cause and his natural sympathies for the Dutch brought his change of front to the army of the States General . As a captain in the Dutch army, the Scottish brigade stood out in the battle of Seneffe (1674) as well as in the siege of Grave , which surrendered on October 24th of the same year. He was then promoted to major . In 1677 he was made a colonel in the Scottish regiment.

In 1685 the Scots Brigade was to be brought to England to help put down the Monmouth Rebellion . Mackays was promoted to major general and privy councilor of Scotland on June 4, 1685 , although the brigade had not been required. Mackay was then for a short time in Edinburgh , but returned to London without visiting his Scottish estates. After the Scottish Brigade had been inspected by King James II on Hounslow Heath, they embarked with Mackay again for Holland. In 1687, James II wanted to see the brigade back in the arms service in France, but the request was refused by the Prince of Orange. When King James demanded that they be returned to England on January 27, 1688, the States General decided to withhold the soldiers and pay them themselves.

War against the Jacobites

In November 1688, Orange's troops landed in the port of Torbay in south-west England. Mackay was in command of the English and Scottish divisions, which were cheered by the population and received without a fight. In January 1689 Mackay was by Wilhelm III. Appointed commander in Scotland and charged with protecting the sessions of the new Edinburgh Congress and crushing the Jacobite revolt under John Graham of Claverhouse . Lord Dundee, in his capacity as commander in chief of all Scottish armed forces, continued to support the Stuart dynasty. Mackay's troops had reached Perth by March 25, 1689 , his forces still essentially consisted of his old Scottish brigade, the losses caused by the departed Dutch soldiers had been replenished with Scottish recruits. Lord Dundee, who had been declared a traitor by the king on March 30th, withdrew his outnumbered troops northward before Mackay's forces. On May 16, Dundee reached Glenroy to reunite with the clans under Ewen Cameron of Lochiel . On the morning of July 27, 1689, Mackay's troops were reported and immediately attacked at the Battle of Killiecrankie . The use of the newly introduced bung bayonet increased the firepower, but the attachment of the stabbing weapon was delayed until the last possible moment. The speed of the Jacobite attack made the government troops defenseless for the decisive moments. His brother Lt. Col. James Mackay was abandoned and killed by his men. While Mackay was giving the order to withdraw, his armed forces had suffered heavy losses. On the other hand, the Highlanders' victory was undone by the death of Bonnie Dundee . Mackay showed unexpected energy even after the defeat and subjugated the Highlands step by step. On August 21, 1689, the Highlanders suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dunkeld . This enabled Mackay to subjugate the clans in Atholl , soon followed by the submission of the whole country as far as Inverness . In June 1690 Mackay marched from Perth to Badenoch and reached Inverlochy on July 3 . Here Mackay met with an expedition of three frigates and 600 soldiers, and nearby the construction of Fort William began as a strong bulwark against further uprisings.

Mackay supported Wilhelm III. at the organization for the 1691 campaign in Flanders , but he himself was sent to Ireland that year and placed under the command of General Ginkell . His grenadiers made a brilliant crossing over the Shannon on June 30, 1691 . At the Battle of Aughrim (July 12, 1691) his troops proved their worth when Mackay opened a path for his cavalry over an impassable moor and his encirclement of the flank of the Irish army decided the victory. After Limerick surrendered on October 3rd, he returned to Holland.

Before the campaign of 1692 he rose to the rank of lieutenant general and added a whole division to the Allied army in Flanders. During the Battle of Steenkerke (July 24, 1692), Mackay's positions were severely harassed by the French. He asked for retreat or immediate reinforcements, but was ordered to hold out. Without receiving the necessary support, most of his troops were crushed and General MacKay himself was killed. His descendants died out in the male line as early as 1775.

literature

• John Mackay of Rockville: Life of Lieutenant General Hugh Mackay of Scoury , Laing & Forbes, 1836
• Thomas Finlayson Henderson: Hugh Mackay , Dictionary of National Biography , Smith Elder & Co, London 1893

Web links

• www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy